Gwinnett DA announces plans to seek death penalty for second time in a week

A man charged with killing his wife and three relatives is the second Gwinnett County defendant in just seven days to learn he faces the death penalty.

In a crowded second-floor courtroom at the county jail, Chief Assistant District Attorney John Melvin told a judge Tuesday his office is seeking the ultimate punishment for Vijay Kumar.

The 51-year-old DeKalb County man is accused of killing his wife and three others during a fit of rage that was allegedly witnessed by his own young daughter.

Kumar, who appeared in court wearing a faded jail-issued jumpsuit, blew a kiss to relatives seated in the second row. His oldest daughter choked back tears and clung tightly to two family members as a Gwinnett detective recounted the grisly events of Jan. 23.

Cpl. Tyler Daniel said Kumar’s younger daughter dialed 911 that night after witnessing her father pull out two guns and open fire during a heated argument that investigators believe started over finances.

The 12-year-old was upstairs with her two cousins when she heard her father screaming in Hindi, Daniel said on the stand.

“As soon as she got to the bottom of the staircase, she saw her father pull out two pistols, one from each pocket,” Daniel said.

The little girl ran toward Kumar in the living room, he said, “begging for her father to stop.”

She later told investigators she felt a bullet “whiz by her head,” he said. “She witnessed the murder occur in front of her.”

Following the shooting, the child ran back upstairs and hid her younger cousins in a closet before calling the police, authorities said.

“She said her father was inside the residence shooting multiple people,” Daniel said of the 911 call.

When Gwinnett police arrived at the house along Brook Ivy Court, they found shell casings scattered around the living room and kitchen of the Lawrenceville-area home, the detective said.

Authorities also found four bodies inside, he said: one in the kitchen, one on a living room sofa and two more people on the floor behind the couch. Police also recovered two guns, a blue Glock and a Derringer-style double-barreled pistol, he testified.

Kumar is accused of killing his wife, Meemu Dogra, 43, and three others: Gourav Cumar, 33, Nidhi Chander, 37, and Harish Chander, 38.

Authorities said Kumar left his relatives’ home on foot after the shooting. Police later found him in some woods along Snellville Highway, about half a mile from his family’s home.

He also allegedly admitted to killing his relatives, according to the detective, who said Kumar was recorded on one officer’s body camera saying, “I shoot these people.”

As he was led back to his jail cell Tuesday afternoon, Kumar turned and waved to his daughter. She covered her face and sobbed as she stood up to leave.